Booing inspired performance, says Deon Burton
LONDON, England– Former Reggae Boyz striker Deon Burton says persistent booing from Rotherham fans served as a motivation for his double against his former team last weekend.
The veteran Jamaican international who helped the country to their debut appearance at a World Cup finals in 1998, scored twice to carry Gillingham to a 2-0 victory away at the New York Stadium.
Burton was booed at every turn but said the reception had only helped to inspire his performance.
“You’d have thought they’d have got over it, it was six or seven years ago. I’m old enough not to let it faze me. It didn’t bother me in the slightest,” said Burton, who spent a year at Rotherham in 2005 before heading to Sheffield Wednesday.
“It does spur you on, you thrive off it. When you get a bit of stick, you want to give a bit back in the right way. Hopefully, I did that with the two goals.
“That’s what we got told to do, silence the crowd with our feet and luckily that’s what we did.”
Burton signed a one-year deal with Gillingham during the summer, after spending two years in Azerbaijan with Premier League side Gabala. He has already scored nine goals this season.
The 36-year-old has played the majority of his career in England with the likes of Portsmouth, Derby County and Charlton Athletic.